Police search suspected meth lab in Oneida (video)(update)

Jolene Cleaver- Oneida Daily Dispatch-
Police searched three apartments in this building located at 118-122 Madison Street in Oneida Thursday evening.

ONEIDA>>Oneida City Police Chief David Meeker said Friday that information regarding the Thursday evening search of a suspected methamphetamine operation would be released early next week.

Beginning around 4 p.m. Thursday, Oneida City Police and New York State Police searched three apartments in a three-story building at 118-122 Madison Street that were suspected of being connected to a methamphetamine lab.

The search was the result of about a month-long investigation that was begun because of tips from the public, police say.

Police donned protective gear and entered the building, where they later found materials used in the manufacture of meth using the “one-pot” or “shake-and-bake” method, and a quantity of suspected finished product. However, police would not say if they’d made any arrests or disclose the amount of the substance at the time of this report.

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Police declined to comment further on Thursday because it’s an ongoing investigation.

The building has shops on the ground floor- a beauty parlor, a vacuum cleaner repair shop as well as a vacant storefront.

Onlookers and neighbors were dismayed at the prospect of illegal drug activity on the street.

“That’s dangerous. Do you know how many kids live on this street?,” said Jaime Miller who lives a short distance down the street. Miller said that she believes a several children live in the building.

A short time later, an ice cream truck rolled down the street, as children rode bicycles on the sidewalk.

The Oneida City Fire Department and Madison County Probation Department were also involved in the investigation.